Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on Thursday hit out at politicians for raising objections to her being appointed as Telangana’s brand ambassador, saying that her family had been staying in Hyderabad for more than a century and to call her an outsider was condemnable.

Sania was named the brand ambassador of the newly-created state on Tuesday, a move that triggered a political furore. The opposition BJP started the controversy by saying that Sania does not deserve the honour as she is the “daughter-in-law of Pakistan” after her marriage to cricketer Shoaib Malik.

“It hurts me that so much precious time of prominent politicians and the media is being wasted on a petty issue of my being appointed the Brand Ambassador of my State of Telangana. I sincerely believe that this precious time should be spent on solving the more urgent issues of our State and country,” Sania said in a statement.

Asserting her Hyderabadi roots, Sania said her ancestors had contributed to the city and her marriage to Malik does not take away the fact that she remains an Indian citizen. “I am married to Mr. Shoaib Malik, who is from Pakistan. I am an Indian, who will remain an Indian until the end of my life,” the 27-year-old insisted.

“I was born in Mumbai as my mother needed to be at a specialist hospital since she was seriously unwell at the time of my birth. I came home to Hyderabad when I was 3 weeks old. “My forefathers have lived in Hyderabad for more than a century. My grandfather, Mr. Mohammed Zaffer Mirza started his career as an Engineer in Nizam’s Railways in Hyderabad in 1948 and died in his ancestral home in Hyderabad,” she said.

Sania also spoke about her great grandfather Mohd. Ahmed Mirza, insisting that he “was also born and raised in Hyderabad. He was the Chief Engineer, Water Works, Hyderabad and was responsible for constructing the famous Gandipet dam.” “My great, great grandfather, Mr. Aziz Mirza was the Home Secretary under the Nizam in Hyderabad and worked tirelessly for relief works during the historic Musi River floods of 1908.”

Sania said it was hurtful to hear comments which sought to brand her as an outsider. “So, my family belongs to Hyderabad for more than a century and I strongly condemn any attempts by any person, whosoever, to brand me an outsider. I hope this clears all doubts and issues,” she said.

Telangana BJP leader K Laxman had flayed the TRS government’s decision to appoint Sania as brand ambassador, questioning her credentials for the honour. The tennis player had never participated in agitation for a separate state of Telangana, said Laxman who is leader of BJP in Telangana legislative assembly.

Handing over a grant of Rs 1 crore here on Tuesday, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao appointed Sania as brand ambassador of Telangana and described her as a daughter of Hyderabad.

Here are her statements over Twitter:

It hurts me that so much precious time of prominent politicians and the media is being wasted on a petty issue of my being-

hi all, from a non political point of view, a person can marry ne1 of his/her choice, take up citizenship of any country but that doesnot give the person the right to disrespect his/her country of birth. In Jan 2008 it was us the same ppl who accused her of disrespecting the Indian Flag, which evidently she did. Now how come a person who is disrespectful to Indian flag, be a b ambador of an Indian State.Also if Telengana govt is so pro sports then I should say there are n number of sports persons in India across various verticals who never see the face of limelight because our gov is too reluctant to see the potential in them. Sania has achieved a lot and financially she is sound, so if that 1 crore could hv been spent on general uplifting of various sports categories rather than show business, we could hv seen a better india

(0)(0)

Reply

H

H1N1

Jul 24, 2014 at 12:00 pm

No it is not condemnable. Everyone in India feels that way. You will find very few takers for your BS that you are Indian now. No point in giving benefits to people like you.

(0)(0)

Reply

J

jatinder singh

Jul 24, 2014 at 8:14 am

she is an outsider marrying a are there shortage of muslim guys in INDIA, Well marrying from enemy country is not acceptable to real Indians.

(0)(0)

Reply

A

AB Manohara

Jul 24, 2014 at 11:51 am

Sania indeed an outsider; married to enemy of India. No dought about it and national shame that TRS made her b Ambador for Telengana. Be informed that, she is representing India in Tennis for Money not for her Patriotism.

(0)(0)

Reply

R

rakesh

Jul 24, 2014 at 10:16 am

Shame on you Mr. LAXMAN for having hurt the nationalist feelings of our rising star. When she brings proud to India in sports, why the were u silent?